Latest news with #Gandhis


News18
6 days ago
- Business
- News18
ED Did Nothing For 11 Years, Woke Up Suddenly: Sonia Gandhi To Court In National Herald Case
Last Updated: Congress claims ED did nothing for 11 years and suddenly acted in the National Herald case. Singhvi argues the money laundering case is unprecedented, with no property movement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) did nothing for 11 years between 2010-2021 and has now woken up suddenly, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Friday told a court during a hearing in the National Herald case. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was representing Gandhi, began his rebuttal in the court of Special CBI Judge Vishal Gogne after Additional Solicitor General S V Raju for ED on July 3 concluded his arguments on the point of cognisance of the chargesheet filed in the case. Singhvi said that ED's money laundering case is truly 'strange" and it's 'unprecedented". 'It is alleged that this is a case of money laundering, without any money and property being moved, without any use or projection of property. Associated Journals Limited, which published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper, has had properties across India for decades, Sighvi said, adding that ownership of none of the properties has been changed. ED alleges Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped assets of AJL, in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan. Singhvi, however, submitted that the exercise was undertaken to make AJL debt-free. 'Every company is entitled under law and does, every day, make their companies get free by a variety of instruments. So you take away the debt and assign it to another entity. So this company becomes debt free," Singhvi said. He said that Young Indian was a not-for-profit company. 'Means it cannot give dividends, it cannot give perks, it cannot give salaries, it cannot give those bonuses. It can give nothing," the senior lawyer argued. Singhvi said the ED did not do anything for several years and instead picked up a private complaint. 'They are, obviously people associated with the Congress. To have the National Herald in a body not associated with the Congress would be worse than having Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark," he said. Singhvi continued by mentioning the grounds on which the present court did not have the jurisdiction to try the case. The ED has accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes aside from Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and a private company Young Indian of conspiracy and money laundering over the fraudulent takeover of properties valued over Rs 2,000 crore belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published National Herald newspaper. On July 3, Raju argued on the point of chargesheet's cognisance, saying the Gandhis were the 'beneficial owners" of Young Indian and acquired its total control after the death of other shareholders. The ED filed its chargesheet against the Gandhis and others under Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The chargesheet also names Dudey, Pitroda, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited. (With PTI inputs) view comments First Published: July 04, 2025, 15:51 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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Business Standard
14-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
National Herald case: Court reserves order on ED chargesheet cognisance
ED alleges that Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case. Special Judge Vishal Gogne said the matter will be heard on July 29. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, as well as Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering over the fraudulent takeover of Rs 2,000 crore worth properties belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper. ED alleges that Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan. The chargesheet names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
05-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
National Herald case: AICC attempted to revive AJL, Cheema tells court
The ED alleges the Gandhis held a majority 76 percent share in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a ₹90 crore loan Press Trust of India New Delhi Senior advocate R S Cheema, representing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday argued that the AICC was not trying to sell the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), but rather attempting to save the institution, which was part of the freedom movement. Cheema began his rebuttal before Special Judge Vishal Gogne. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, as well as Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering over the fraudulent takeover of properties valued at over ₹2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper. "Can my friend (ED counsel) tell me why they were shy of placing the Memorandum of Association (MoA) of AJL. AJL was established in 1937 by Jawaharlal Nehru, J. B. Kripalani, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, and others. "The AJL MoA said that the policy of AJL will be the policy of the INC. All through, AJL did not have profits. In the post-independence period, it was never a commercial institution. We (All India Congress Committee) were trying to retrieve an institution which is part of the freedom movement heritage. The problem was not recovering the loan (given to AJL); the problem was to revive it, to see that it comes back on the rails. AICC was not looking for profit from sales. This is a squinted version," Cheema said. The ED alleges the Gandhis held a majority 76 percent share in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a ₹90 crore loan. Earlier, on Friday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi concluded his arguments on behalf of Sonia Gandhi. On July 3, Raju argued on the point of the chargesheet's cognisance, saying the Gandhis were the "beneficial owners" of Young Indian and acquired total control after the death of other shareholders. The ED filed its chargesheet against the Gandhis and others under Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The chargesheet also names Dubey, Pitroda, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited.


Deccan Herald
05-07-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
National Herald case: AICC attempted to revive AJL, Rahul Gandhi's lawyer tells court
The ED alleges the Gandhis held a majority 76 percent share in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan.


NDTV
05-07-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Tried To Revive, Not Sell Associated Journals Limited's Assets: Congress
Senior advocate R S Cheema, representing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday argued that the AICC was not trying to sell the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), but rather attempting to save the institution, which was part of the freedom movement. Cheema began his rebuttal before Special Judge Vishal Gogne. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, as well as Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering over the fraudulent takeover of properties valued at over ₹2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper. "Can my friend (ED counsel) tell me why they were shy of placing the Memorandum of Association (MoA) of AJL? AJL was established in 1937 by Jawaharlal Nehru, J. B. Kripalani, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, and others. "The AJL MoA said that the policy of AJL will be the policy of the INC. All through, AJL did not have profits. In the post-independence period, it was never a commercial institution. We (All India Congress Committee) were trying to retrieve an institution which is part of the freedom movement heritage. The problem was not recovering the loan (given to AJL); the problem was to revive it, to see that it comes back on the rails. AICC was not looking for profit from sales. This is a squinted version," Cheema said. The ED alleges the Gandhis held a majority 76 percent share in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a ₹90 crore loan. Earlier, on Friday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi concluded his arguments on behalf of Sonia Gandhi. On July 3, Raju argued on the point of the chargesheet's cognisance, saying the Gandhis were the "beneficial owners" of Young Indian and acquired total control after the death of other shareholders. The ED filed its chargesheet against the Gandhis and others under Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The chargesheet also names Dubey, Pitroda, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited.